Small group curriculum for Latino middle school students with one deported/absent parent

60 Pages·2014·1.22 MB·English

by  Karen Denisse

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

SMALL GROUP FOR LATINO MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH ONE
DEPORTED/ABSENT PARENT

A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the degree of Masters of Science in Counseling,
School Counseling

by

Karen D. Ruvalcaba

May 2014
The graduate thesis project of Karen Ruvalcaba is approved:

Shyrea Minton, Ed.D. Date

Carmen Velasquez, MS Date

Tovah Sands, Ph.D, Chair Date

California State University, Northridge
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DEDICATION

I dedicate this project to students who have experienced separation from their parents due
to deportation. Thank you parents for your support - for allowing me to pursue an education all
while receiving your hospitality and patience. I will never forget my Godmother Rita for being
my first role model and mentor. She expected me to attend college and continue my education,
without any excuses. Thank you to my boyfriend, Francisco, for being patient with me during
stressful times and for supporting me through the graduation process. I also dedicate this thesis
project to all the Latinas out there-we are the next generation who can contribute to not only our
family but also succeeding generations. I will never forget CSUN’s Educational Opportunity
Program for providing the necessary tools to succeed as a first-generation college student,
without knowing how to survive my first year. Thank you Jeffrey Dellisanti for giving me the
necessary classes to be eligible to enter a University and providing a college culture which let me
to start thinking about a higher education. Lastly, thank you god for giving me life and the
strengths to pursue a higher education, especially through times that I felt I was not capable for
being an ESL student.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge all the readers who took the time to read my thesis project.
Thank you to my cohort class of 2014, who made me feel like I had a second family throughout
these past two years. I felt supported each time I reached out to my classmates when in doubt of
a task. Thank you Dr. Sands for giving the opportunity to re-submit my project when I had to
revise it numerous times. Thank you CSUN for giving me the opportunity to continue my
education. Thank you Derek Martin, my high school supervisor, for giving me the freedom to
gain knowledge with all the staff on campus - you always answered my questions in an honest
way. Carmen Velasquez, my middle school supervisor - you guided me on how to help students
by using coping skills and provided me with feedback on how I might improve. Thank you
Wendy Quinonez, Project STEPS site coordinator, for allowing me to put my leadership skills
into practice whenever I wanted to start a project on campus. Because of you, I learned what
resources to provide to students in order to receive a higher education. Thank you Rocio Leal,
my CSUN College Advisor, for empowering me to continue my education as a Latina, and
always providing the necessary tools to succeed.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Signature Page ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgements iv
Abstract vi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
Introduction 1
Statement of the Problem 4
Purpose of Graduate Project 5
Definition of Terms 5

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Physical, Psychological & Cognitive Development of Children and Adolescents 6
Social & Personality Development of Children and Adolescents 7
Latino Middle School Students 8
Latino Immigrant Families 9
Ethnic-Identity of Latino Youth 9
Undocumented Families 11
Children of Undocumented Immigrant Families 13
Absent Parents 14
Small Group Work 15
Professional School Counselors 16
Stress and Coping in Young Adolescents 17

CHAPTER III: PROJECT AUDIENCE AND IMPLEMENTATION FACTORS
Introduction 20
Development of Project 20
Intended Audience 21
Personal Qualifications 21
Environment and Equipment 22
Project Outline 22

CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION
Summary of Project 23
Evaluation 23
References 26

Appendix I- Facilitator’s Guide 31
Appendix II- Small Group Curriculum for Children with Deported/Absent Parent 42
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ABSTRACT

GROUP CURRICULUM FOR LATINO MIDDLE SCHOOL
STUDENTS WITH AN ABSENT\DEPORTED PARENT
by

Karen Ruvalcaba

Masters of Science in Counseling, School Counseling

The purpose of this graduate project is to create a small psycho-educational group
curriculum to be facilitated by a professional school counselor for use in a school setting for
middle school first generation Latino students with one absent/deported parent. The purpose of
this small group is for the members to learn how to cope with life-changes and for them to
develop their own strategy/tools for academic success. Deportation is a major problem for
schools because the children’s families face parent-separation, fears, anger, confusion, and
disruptive behaviors that can impede academic success. A comprehensive review of the research
includes literature on early adolescents, emotional, academic, and psychosocial development,
and professional school counselors.
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CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Introduction

Professional school counselors should be aware of students whose parents have been
deported or are absent from their lives because of the impact it has on students’ behavior during
school hours (Orozco &Thakore-Dunlap, 2010). In the article, School Counselors Working with
Latino children and Families affected by Deportation, Orozco &Thakore-Dunlap (2010) state
that being aware of what these children are going through emotionally will help school
counselors better serve them. After undocumented parents are arrested and deported, U.S.
immigration services, or other agencies, do not work with the families to teach children how to
cope with the life-change (Capps, Castañeda, Chaudry, & Santos, 2007). In many cases, the
affected children are not allowed to see the parent before nor after the deportation, causing
further emotional distress.
As an example, there is a case in which an undocumented adult was interviewed in 2011
after having been deported and separated from his eight-year-old daughter and his wife, who was
expecting another baby (Miraval, 2011). The father said that when he was finally reunited with
his family, his daughter avoided speaking to him and treated him like a stranger; the father felt
that the separation affected his daughter negatively. Moreover, the daughter was angry and
frustrated at the situation and blamed her father for not being present in her life (Miraval, 2011).
Deportees get upset and frustrated because of existing immigration laws in the U.S. Many
people believe that the current immigration laws are not sensitive to the cultures of those who are
being arrested. Immigration laws do not take into account the values, beliefs, and norms of the
deportees’ families (Miraval, 2011). Officials do not work with the families after separation and
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do not give them enough time to prepare mentally and emotionally for what will ensue.
Immigration officers fail to offer either coping or parenting classes to the families affected by
deportation (Miraval, 2011). The Office of Refugee Resettlement, a branch that works with the
Department of Homeland Security, has admitted to not knowing how many of the arrestees
reunite with their families and children (Miraval, 2011).

It is estimated that 28% of children in undocumented families living in the United States
are between the ages of six to ten, and 35% are between the ages of 11 to 17 (Capps, Castañeda,
Chaudry, & Santos, 2007). According to Steven Camarota, Director of Research at the Center for
Immigration Studies (2012), it is very important to study immigrant families because of the high
numbers currently living here. He also suggests that all educators must find out how immigrant
families are doing emotionally in order to address their emotional and academic needs, and their
need to break their poverty cycle (2012). Most immigrants fear that if they stay in their native
country, their children will not have the educational opportunities that the U.S. offers. Even
though immigrants come to the U.S. to seek a better future for their children, most face
challenges once in the country. Uncertainty of their residential status, low wages, forfeiting their
cultural traditions, values or beliefs, being away from their families, adjusting to a new
environment, and learning a new language, all constitute the kinds of challenges they face
(Immigration: Living Undocumented, 2005).

Current California laws have a direct effect on whether or not undocumented immigrants
will be deported or not. In 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a proposed bill to the
California State Legislature called “The Reuniting Immigrant Families Act” which was sent to
Congress for approval. It would allow families who were once separated due to deportation, to
reunite. The law also provides the families with the option of staying in the U.S. through
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screening and assessments. However, this proposed bill was not enacted when it was introduced
to U.S. Congress (H.R, 2011). California Penal Code 851.5 states that those who get arrested
have the right to make at least three phone calls no later than three hours after their arrest.
California proposed Assembly Bill 2015 in 2012, which states that deported parents would be
informed of these rights (Wessler, 2012). This law would allow parents to inform their families
verbally about the current situation and what will happen when they are deported. If the bill
passes, families would strengthen their verbal communication and have the opportunity to
become emotionally prepared for the separation. However, the bill has not been passed yet. As a
result, many children face lifelong trauma because foster parents, instead of relatives or family
friends, are now caring for them (Larsen, 2013). Furthermore, families and children are not
receiving the necessary support to find healthy ways of coping with this situation (Chaudry,
Capps, Pedroza, Castañeda, Santos, & Scott, 2010). Currently, if the parent of the child deports
to their native country, the child will automatically be sent to foster care in California by the
immigration services. Foster care does not assist a child to transition smoothly from their
previous home to a new environment, yet transitioning disrupts the child’s academic
achievement when moving from one home to another.

The Obama Administration announced in 2009 that there is a need to reform the U.S.
immigration detention facilities, stating that undocumented individuals are detained an average
of 370 miles away from their family’s home (Wessler, 2011). Long distances make it
challengingfor families to contact each other during the deportation process. The Obama
Administration also wants to decrease the number of undocumented individuals being deported
(Wessler, 2011).
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Statement of the Problem

Childrenwhose parents have been arrested or deported due to violation of federal
immigration laws, are at risk for behavior, academic, and emotional problems in school. Middle
school students, for example, may be behaving badly because of the absence of one of their
parents, and from a lack of support necessary for coping and doing well in school. These children
can face long-term behavioral and academic problems throughout their school years due to
instability regarding the family’s immigration status (Orozco &Thakore-Dunlap, 2010). For
children left back in the U.S., there are no known psycho-educational curriculum groups to help
them cope with deported/absent parents; in fact, many recent studies encourage school
counselors to work with these children and families in order to teach coping skills for emotional
and academic success. There is a need for schools to address the problems created by
absent/deported families. One way to do so is to have a small group facilitated by a professional
school counselor that focuses on teaching group members coping skills.
An estimated 30 million undocumented individuals will enter the United States in the
next 20 years (Camarota, 2012). Parents are anticipated to be among this population, so there
will be more of the unexpected aforementioned separations that ultimately disturb a child’s
academic routines and emotional stability. Many school staff members are neither aware nor
understanding of the challenges that undocumented immigrants face, nor are they trained to work
with them accordingly (Orozco, 2008). For every two undocumented individuals held in a
detention facility, it is estimated that one child physically stays behind in the U.S. (Capps,
Castañeda, Chaudry, & Santos, 2007).
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